Why You Should Get Comfortable With Being Wrong

“When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom.” ~Proverbs 11:2 KJV

The word for low in Latin is humilis. Humilis is the word origin for Humility and Humble. So it makes sense that later translations of the Bible replace the words “the lowly is” with “humility comes.”

In a world where people are afraid to make mistakes because of how they will look, the ones who will thrive will be the ones that aren’t afraid to be wrong. To err is human. It’s how we learn — how we progress in life.

Frustrated with where you are in life? Maybe it’s because you lack the humility to admit you need help or need to learn something.

There are some things that you do not know. Being comfortable with this will help you advance in all aspects of life.

On my first trip to Guanajuato, Mexico, a couple of roommates and I went on a trek to the city of León, a city known for its leather goods. I had seen a friend come back from there with a cool messenger back and I wanted one just like it.

Somewhere in the city, we got lost or confused. I don’t exactly remember the reason why, but I know we needed directions. My male roommate and I both refused to ask. Not because we were too stubborn to ask for directions but because we both didn’t want to look dumb trying to speak Spanish. We were both fairly new to the language.

Our other roommate, however, did not care how “dumb” she looked. And even though my roommate and I both spoke better Spanish than her, she took it upon herself to ask for directions.

I winced when I heard her butcher the language. She didn’t roll her Rs, and her vocabulary was minimal, how embarrassing. But because she had the humility to be flawed, we got the directions we needed.

You can apply this lesson to life. Have somewhere you want to be — a goal you want to attain? Making mistakes may be embarrassing but how embarrassed will you feel in five, ten, or twenty years when you are no further along in life than you are right now.

Be prepared to swallow your pride and make some mistakes or else you aren’t going anywhere.